For Business

Toolkit

Canada's Festival City

Edmonton hosts more than 30 festivals throughout the year that celebrate arts, culture and sports. Throughout the summer festivals are held for blues, bluegrass, folk, jazz and symphonic music. Winter festivals focus on ice sculptures, skiing and skating. In-between, there’s something for everyone. From the Canadian Finals Rodeo to the Freewill Shakespeare Festival – and five distinct arts festivals that focus on art, design, storytelling and film – you’ll find it all in Edmonton, Canada’s Festival City!

A few select Festival highlights:

Edmonton’s Capital EX: Edmonton’s oldest festival, which received a new name and makeover in 2006, is a summer event includes international entertainment, chuckwagon races, and a midway full of carnival fun

Edmonton Folk Music Festival: One of the world’s leading Folk festivals, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival is a four-day outdoor music extravaganza that attracts more than 80,000 music lovers. Situated in Gallagher Park in Edmonton's scenic river valley, the festival offers an eclectic mix of music for all tastes. The festival has attracted such talent as Sarah McLachlan, Tracy Chapman, Hawksley Workman, Chris Isaak, Feist, Alison Krauss and Union Station, John Prine, Ron Sexsmith, Norah Jones, and many more.

Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival: Second only in size to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Edmonton’s Fringe attracts 500,000 visitors each summer and some 1,000 performances. With 100 per cent of revenue generated from ticket sales returned directly to the artists themselves the Edmonton Fringe attracts performers from across Canada, the United States, Africa, Austria, Australia, Bulgaria, Great Britain, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Sweden, Taiwan, and Central and South America. Learn more about the Fringe Theatre Festival through the stories of people who've experienced it at www.edmontonstories.ca.

Heritage Festivals: Celebrations of over 60 cultural backgrounds can be found in a variety of heritage oriented festivals: these include brilliant Ukrainian dance troupes that have burst forth from Edmonton to thrill audiences around the world; the pounding beat of the Cariwest parade; native filmmakers sharing their remarkable visions at Dreamspeakers Film Festival, and the three-day world village of the Edmonton Heritage Festival, a stunning multicultural showcase. Learn more about the Heritage Festival through the stories of people who've experienced it at www.edmontonstories.ca.

For even more information on Edmonton’s festival connection, please check out the Edmonton Festival City website at www.festivalcity.ca.

River Valley and Parks

"Like many great cities, Edmonton is defined by a river. The historic North Saskatchewan cuts through the heart of downtown and offers tremendous opportunity for scenery and wildlife in river-valley surroundings that feel remote and are remarkably pristine." Alberta, Land of Elk & Money - Peter Brewster, The Toronto Sun 04/06/2006